A study on the effects of seat belt posters on drivers

Abstract

The primary aim of this study was to identify the effects of several posters designed to encourage the use of seat belts on drivers. Discovering the seat belt use habits of drivers and their reasons for failing to use them constitute the secondary aims of the study. In order to fulfill these aims, four different posters appealing to drivers' safety and normative motivations were designed. The drivers were then asked to choose the poster that impressed them most. Half of the drivers chose the first poster, which drew a parallelism between the casualites of terrorism, earthquake and traffic, as most impressive. The second most impressive poster was the fourth one, which emphasized the link between traffic rules and morality. Female drivers found this poster with a moral message more impressive than males. Another finding of the study was that primary school and university graduates were more impressed by the posters appealing to normative motivation. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.